It’s almost an absurd concept, one that most of us might disregard as the hyped-up claims of a late night infomercial, but Pam Grout is perfectly serious in her book Jupmstart Your Metabolism: How To Lose Weight By Changing The Way You Breathe.

She describes what she calls “backwards breathing”, the tendency to suck our stomachs in when inhaling and pushing them out as we exhale, and many of us are guilty of it.  There is also the matter of futile breathing, not taking in enough air to fill the lungs, and therefore not enough air for our cells to function properly.

The book goes on to describe the many incredible benefits of proper breathing, including weight loss. (Perhaps this is the secret of Yoga and other breath-focused exercises?)

Towards the end of the book Pam Grout includes her Daily Menu of breathing exercises called “Cocktails”.

In her typical friendly manner, Grout explains Cocktail 1, the Baywatch Bikini Breath:

This breath is the very best one I know for fully oxygenating your body, increasing your energy, and losing weight. If you do just this one breath, ten times, three times a day you will revolutionize your life. You’ll lose weight, become a genius, and be writing books of your own.

Here’s how it works:

1. Stand up and say, “I am the greatest”- not only out loud, but in your posture. Remember, your body speaks volumes.
2. Take a long slow belly breath, inhaling through your nose.
3. Lock the breath inside your body and hold it for four times as long as you inhaled. For our example, if you inhaled to the count of four, hold it to the count of sixteen.
4. Now, exhale through your mouth twice as long as you inhaled. Again, using the four example, exhale to the count of eight.

The ratio is always one-four-two. If you breathe in to the count of five, it’s hold for 20 (four times five), exhale for ten (two times five). If it’s three, it’s hold for twelve, exhale for six.

There are thirteen Cocktails in all, including The Goddess Breath, No Longer Waiting to Exhale and Mr. Clean.

More than just a fun and interesting read, Jumpstart Your Metabolism is an essential introduction to the benefits and techniques of proper breathing for weight loss and overall health and wellbeing.

Check it out at Amazon.com or your local library.

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